Search

Fungi have been found in every marine habitat that has been explored; however, the diversity and functions of fungi in the ocean are poorly understood. In this study, fungi were cultured from the marine environment in the vicinity of Woods Hole, MA, USA, including from plankton, sponge, and coral. Our sampling resulted in 35 unique species across 20 genera. We observed many isolates by time-lapse, differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy and analyzed modes of growth and division. Several black yeasts displayed highly unconventional cell division cycles compared to those of traditional model yeast systems. Black yeasts have been found in habitats inhospitable to other life and are known for halotolerance, virulence, and stress resistance. We find that this group of yeasts also shows remarkable plasticity in terms of cell size control, modes of cell division, and cell polarity. Unexpected behaviors include division through a combination of fission and budding, production of multiple simultaneous buds, and cell division by sequential orthogonal septations. These marine-derived yeasts reveal alternative mechanisms for cell division cycles that seem likely to expand the repertoire of rules established from classic model system yeasts., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The authors conducted two studies of routine medical visits, investigating the relation of physician gender, patient gender, and physician age to patient satisfaction, and the correlations between communication behaviors and satisfaction separately for different combinations of patient and physician gender. Study 1 was based on videotaped visits to a hospital-based internal medicine practice (n = 97 visits). Study 2 was based on audiotaped visits to 11 different community and hospital-based practices in the United States and Canada (n = 524 visits). In both studies, patients examined by younger physicians, especially younger female physicians, reported lower ratings of satisfaction. These findings were true for male and female patients; however, in both studies, the lowest satisfaction in absolute terms was among male patients examined by younger female physicians. The effects were not explained by patient and physician background characteristics or by measured communication during the visit. Correlations between verbal and nonverbal communication and satisfaction for different combinations of physician and patient gender suggested that gender-related values and expectations influence patients' reactions to physicians' behavior. There also was evidence that patient satisfaction is reflected in the patient's affective behavior during the visit.